Machine for building tire bands



Jan. 13, 1931. H. T. KRAFT MACHINE FOR BUILDING TIRE BANDS Filed Sept. 15, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 13, ,1931. H. T. KRAFT MACHINE FOR BUILDING TIRE BANDS Filed sept. 15, 192e ds sheets-sheet 2 mw f mi I Z A0 7 .mm w W 3 a7.. 7 w

Jan. 13, 1931. H. T. KRAFTV I 1,789,143

MACHINE FOR BUILDING TIRE BANDS y Filed Sept. l5.' 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Y 1i) vide a band-building drum and operating Fig'. 7.

2@ ible tubular member which may bemade of l fied form .of the tubular .m'ember.'v f Y' Patented Jan; 13, 1931Y l 1,789.14?

- UNITED: Vsnari-11-i PATgE-NT-oFFlcE; t 1

i. i Yirrnniualvjin'Intern,formation.omo-l naoiinvnron Bmmmermnisannsj, n n

Appliaton led September'15, 19278. Seralflo.-30,l6i6. Y

This invention relates to machines for use Fig. is faside elevationjofthe drum yin in building bands to be formed into pneucollapsedfoonditionWith'the tire band intvvo matic tire casings according to the so-called positionsshown respectively in broken and flat band or pulley band process@ full lines. We. i l f y l; Heretofore these bands, when" of the 4inex- Fig. 5 is a sectional vievvshowing the Wall f 55 tensible-bead variety, have commonly been construction of the tubular member Vand its made on radially-collapsible,. segmental connection Witlrone ofthe drum heads. I drums whose costv of rmanufacture and main- Fig. is af longitudinal section 'of'. the airteuance is rather high. My object is to prof control valve, taken on the line 6 6 of `0 means therefor which may bebuilt and mainl'ig.V 7 is a transverse sectionof said v alVe tained at a lower cost, which Will involve on the line-77 ofFig. G, inits Vacuum or' greater ease inoperating the drum and re-gv drum-deflating position. Y o

moving the finished tire 'band 'and will vafford Fg. 8 is a View similar toFigul-.showing l5 better results in buildingbands because of theV valve in its'pressure Qa'drum-inflating 65 the'possibility of rollingtheir plies togetherV Aposi-tion. i aga-insta yielding support. Fig. 9 is a cross-section .onthe line 9N- 9 VIn the preferred embodiment hereinafter ofv Fig. 1.@ A .1

ydescribed I provide a drum. including a'fleX- i Figi() is ai sectional view showing afmodi-jrubber suitably reinforced with `Wire5r cord, lathe drawings, ZOisa; horizontal shaft threadsor fabric,togetber with a Ipair of mounted to rotate yin suitablebe-arngsou a ydisk-like headstofwhich the edges of said hollow standard 2 1 `and provided tubular memberare `connected in sealed relawith a. large 4pulley y22 wg iereby saidv shafty is Y 25 tion tofform a closed drum'orchaniber, oneofvr driven through 2a belt ,23- froma smaller 75l said heads being axially movable .toward and pulley 24 ontheA shaft- 0f an electriemotor 25 from they other. On inflating'said drum with contained in the standard l vSaid motor [is a. fluidV suchasfcompressed air thehe'ads are provided with suitablestartingalld:stopping Y pushed apart. Thetire band may.,tlie11f be devices (notshown) and maybe r ot ate `d-in 30 built upon. tbefdrum,4 its/'pliesjrolled down either direction at joneiforfmore'speeds V'as .is 80 upon the yielding surface thereof Aand'itsV customaryintire-building machinesgg beadgedges ltrimmed against. bead seats z `The shaft Q projects forwardly fromthe:y formedon the peripheries ofthe drum heads. z front of Vthe standardl 2l and has :mounted Then the drurnis.deflated. theA headsA are 'thereonahollowshaft 26. vvhie h supports. the

i' 35 dra-Wn togethenthe flexible member; collapses building drum,l said'hollow'sliaft being closed ,85.

I .-40 drum'andslipping it off.

between them and oontracts in a radial Vdirecat its `outer end :by a screw plug 27 and at its tion sufficiently to release'the tire band, and'V inner end by sha-ft 2()V anda stungfbox 28. the latter may then be removed by coclingfor 4 for Asealing -thejopening between thetivoland i l turning itgat an angle .to the p lanezof the per-mittingtbe hollow shaft lto'b'el Aadjusted 'i A longitudinallyonthe inner shaft when itis 90 v@fthe accompanying drawings," FigiV fpdesired to line upthe-drum with *auxiliary l j i l a longitudinal section ofmy'improved drum apparatus such f as' `stock rolls. .The ho-ll'ovv and shaft structureggra. tire-bgy d being sho'ivnhaft is fiXejdinthede siredposition.upon the A f .f inner Vshaft' byA means of a Vfriction cl1uck29 y i5 'Fig'is' frontelevation oflthewdiinn with con sisting of@ arcounterebored cylindrical .95

its Vstand and thec'onneoting pipesfaiidvalvesa block? 30 keyed tothegend of shaft 20 and`V Fig. 3 is a vside,elevation of thefdruin with beveled at its outer end, al yvedgifng; platejifll' V flexible tubularv member Vvpartly. broken `beveled at inner endand held-totheblocli awayvto'exposethe reinforcement, and with?Y by a: screivfboltBZ, and anexp'ansible grip-f Q9' il. tire bandthereon, partly broken away. l' puglg 33freverselybeveled on` its 'inner f100.

Y relation to the edges of said tubular member..

' by an excessive degree of lexure of th -lar member 37 is avoided.

periphery and having a. cylindrical outer surface engaging the inner surface of the hollow shaft 2G. The head of the bolt 32 may be reached with a socket Wrench through the opening closed by the block 27. The block is formed with channels 34 and apertures and the clamping plate 31 With vapertures 36 for conducting through this chuck the air or other fluid for operating the drum.

The forming drum proper comprises a ficxible tubular member 37 and a pair of disklike circular heads 38, 39 connected in sealed These heads are mounted for relative axial movement for the purpose ofexpanding and collapsing thevdrum in an endwise direction, and one of them,in this instance the front disk 28, has itshub 40 fixed onthe'end of the hollow shaft 26 by a key 41, thehub and shaft being formed with lateral apertures 42 con necting thel interior lspaces of, said hollow shaft vand drum.

The head 39`is axially slidable on-the holloW shaft 26 and'issealed with relation the-reto by a stuffing-box 43 on 'the' huloy 44 of saidY head, whose gland is adjust-able from the interior of the drunr when the Afront head 38 fhung'by the sleeve'46 and adapted to occupy anyone fof fa-nun1ber of circumferential grooves 4S` externally ,formed 1ny said hollow shaft.V` Bybackingoff the'head 39 and the 'sleeve 46in aleftvvard'directio-n as viewed in "Fig: l, the 'locking ring' 47 will be Vexposed and mayY then be changed to a different groovek 48 and vthe sleeve restored to'its ringfretaining position; '1" "1" Theaxially-movable head 39V also comes to positivel stop at the' limit of :its leftvvard or drum-collapsing move-ment `by Y.the abutting of a 'part ofY its hub structure, such as the heads of its gland-adjusting bolts; against the end of the hub 40 of the front disk 38, Where- The tubular member or "band a flexible and impervious combination of m..- terials 'of Which'a chief ingredientmay be Y vnlcanizedlrubber, together' Wi'thla reinforcement having certain characteristics `hereinafter. described, and isy formed. 'at its edgesV with invvardlyv turned beafdsf49-` let into ,grooves in the out-erperipheriessof theheads YItribu-- r37 isv made ofV 3.8, 39 in such manner as to provide substantlally fluid-tight joints With said heads.

y Preferably these edge connections are made a detachable bead-clamping ring 5,0, the tivo parts-together forming the bead groove and Vthe ringbeing-secured' to the disk body by screW-boltsl( NThe two rings 50 'are formed vwith frustums 52 ofA cones having their bases toward each other and constituting seats on i the-peripheriesofsaid heads on which to build the beads of thetire-forming banda-nd perform any trimming that may be required. on the edges of the tire fabric. i

The tire-forming band is represented con! ventionally at 53in Figs. l, 3 and 4.

The flexible 'tubular' member 37, which Whenextended longitudinally constitutes a form for supporting the tire material and determining the circumferential length of the band made of said material, Vshould be substantially. inextensible in a Vradial direction and each'of its zones or circles shouldV remain of a fixed diameter when said band is iilledjo'ut to its Working position. It is preferably' of composite construction such as vulcanized rubber reinforced With cords, threads' or Wire, Wovenvr or unwoven, and containing a sufficientnumber of strength-V giving'V elements running circumferentially of'thedrum to makethev member 37 practi'- y cally inextensible ina radial direction. The circumferential cords or threadsv 54 (Figs. andf) are closely'spaced and preferably laidiina plurality of superimposed plies as indicated in Fig. 5. OrdinaryWeak-Wefted orfweftle'ssthread fabric such as is usedy for building pneumatic tire casings maybe em! ployed in`,tl1is connection. Ifdesired, one orl more layers of such fabric'm'ay be laidat I a sliglitfangle or bias from the true circum-` ferential yline and'alternated with the `layers of straight-laidthreadsto vmaintain the uni-` formity *of tube-Wall structure and avoid Alocal .soft @spots ltherein -'when the tubular' member is sub'jected'to stretching.l

F or buildingtire bands of 'the same dia1n` eter butdifferent Widths upon the same drumv thetubular member 37'is made stretchable in an axial direction and in such a member l e dispose .thereinforcing' elements yXvhollyfin circumferential or nearly circumferentialjdirectionas described, soy that *said elements may separate slightly," allowing the rubber and the memberl 37 asV a Whole to stretch in a4 direction parallelv to the' axis of lrotation.-V For a drum tobe usedfor making tire bands of a lsingle Widthonly,`the member 37 may be reinforced axially aswell as'circumferen- Vtiallydand c ouldy in 'that casegbemade of a flexible material whichv is' inextensible in Yno both directions,suchas leather or straightlaid, square-woven Jfabric treated-to-make it impervious.

l. The beads 49 are made substantially ineX- p. tensible by means of cores k which may consistofwindings of wire or thread, and each kcore is surrounded by a filler 560i stiff, rubber composition. Bindingor chaling strips 57 of bias-laid, square-woven, rubberized fabric' surround'the bead fillers and overlap I for` a considerable distance on the thread layers 54, these binding str-ips serving to make 1, Vthe tube progressively less extensible in an p axial direction as the beads are approached.

Suitablefacings layers 58, 59V of rubber kare provided on both'sides of the tube wall, and all elementsof member 87 are integrally vulthrough a coupling 60 consisting of a radil ally-perforated, rotary ring Glaaxially aliiied with holes 62 in the hollow shaft, a fixed ring plingv 60 on the shaft Y 7 0 contains .an automatic pressure-reducing Valve'74. The low-pressure'air'is *usedvvto* inflate the drumran'd the high-pressure air is '45'.

an intermediate canized together.

The operating fluid is conducted to and 'fronifthe interior-"of vthe hollow shaft 26 63 surrounding` it, Va Aplug ring orl nut 64' screwing in the end of saidfixed ring, and -a pair of outwardly-tapering, lead ypacking gaskets` 65 'let into grooves formed in the hollow shaft 26 andV interposed between beveled surfaces respectively on the ends of the ring6land on the back-flange ofthe ring63 and the nut 64, the nut 64'bein'g adjustable toalfordfa running rotary fit of the cou- 26, with minimum leakage.

-The ring-63 receives the end ofa pipe 66 p connecting with the casingV 67 of ajcontrol 1 valve 68,said casing also connectinglwith a highfpressure airpipe 69, a low-pressure air f pipe 70 and -an `eXhust pipe k7 Thefpipes 69; and 70 .connect with a common air-supply pipe72 containing a stop-valve 78, and pipe carried through an ejector to produce avacuuin for lde flating gandcollapsing the drum.

Valve casing 67 is provided with a tapered seat to. whichis fitted atapered plug valve 75 providedwith a handle 76 ,for-turning itfl "jto` its diiierent positions. This `plugvis 'dias V metricallybored with a passage 77 .containing Va Venturi sleeve 7,8,and with a lateral passagej79leading fromfthe' periphery ofthe plug tothe passage .7 7 on the suction' side of l,the Venturi sleeve. Fittedin theinletend-4 of the passage 77 isa nozzle 80 discharging l into the throat ofthe Venturi sleeve 78thisv coii'ibi'nation forming! an ejector Vwithin the valve plug 7 Said valveplug may occupy iaV drumsdeii'ating Y position shown in v Fig. 7 ,f aV drum-inflating position-.shownin' lFig'. 8-,.or position in which all .portsVV areblanked. Y

.In the operation of this apparatus, com- .pressed air at suitable `high 'pressurasuchf as SOpounds persquare inch, may be sup plied to the pipes y72 and 69 and, in lbypassing through the pipe 7 0,` this pressure will be reduced bythe'automatic valve 7 4 to, say, 8.5011

l() -pounds `per A square `inch.k The plug Valve `7.5 is placed'i'ntlieposition'shown` iii Fig. 8

and compressed airatthe low pressure of. 8

or'lO poundsipassesby vway of thepipef70,

backward through theejector passage and ejector nozzle 80, through the pipe 66,'V coupliiig 60, and hollow'shaftZG into'theint'erior g l of the drum,Where'it acts to push the movable head- 3 9 away from. thefixed liead 38 and eX-r tend thewfleXible, tubular member I37 untill said movable head is arrestedcby thestop-v ring 45. i The position of this stop'determ'ines the `width V(or axialflengthi) ofthe tire band to be built on fthedrum", and said widthmay be lvaried fordifi'erent'bands of the lsaine diameter :by -employingfan axiallystretchablemember 87 as described, fixingthepositioiiof the stop-sleeve 46 by'plaoingthefsplit Y locking ringin the appropriate giooVe'LlS and obtaining a fine adjustment,if necessary,

by screwing the stop lcollarA in or out on said sleeve.

The extension ofmem-ber 37 draws ittaut, its .circumferential reinforcing-threads prevent it from radiallyextending beyond the desiredv diameter, and the'inflati'on of said member keeps it out to'this diameter. The

drum being thus extended, as` indicated inV Figs. l' and 8, the tireeiormingband 53 is built upthereon in the usual manner-while v l vsaid drum4 is being rotated by power apf.

plied to its shaft 20 from theV electric motor 25. The building operation usually includes f a. pressing together of the plies of tire'fmaterial by a hand rollerv held by the operatorl in l orderto exclude-fair lfrom between saidl pli-es and :secure proper: adhesion betweenV their tacky -rubber surfaces.- The yielding surfaceafforded by my inflated flexible druInWaIlvv distributes -this'pressu're better than the rigid "surfaceof the ordinary metal drum, and hence l makesV the rolling operat-ioiimoreeffective;

lVhen the building of the tirelbandis completeijland preferably. rwhile Vthe' drumgis still ein vacuum in theV interior of the drum, drawing down the pressure therein Ato about half." an atmosphere Vwith the single ejector stage; shown herein@ lllfore stages could be added if a higherfvacuunr VandA nioreifapid exhaustion Thel pressure K Y l actingfonthe'mo-vable head 39 and on the flex? ible drum wall 87 simultaneouslyl presses said; head toward the fxdfhead and, .collapses of4r the external' :atmosphere vpipe 71., The ejectoractioncreates afpartial of the rtire beads the unsupported portions oftheflexible'mem'- ber radially inward,A causing itto assume substantially vthe folded conditionrepresented inv Fig. 4, until finally the movable head is stopped b-y the abutting off itsV hub structure against thehub 40 of the fixed head; The

band and the drum surface throughthe action of; Centrifugal forcel upon the' band. The axial approach of .theY niovabledieznzl B9 towards the fixed head 88 is accompanied by some turning or twisting of. said movable head i on the shaft 26, the direction'fofwhich may 'possibly be: duo to the directionl oftw'ist -iii the reinforcing threads 154,5` and this turning or twisting action promotes regularity inthe folding of the tubular'member V37.

Prior to the laying of thelfirst ply of tire-` materialen the drumthe operator usually;- Vcoats one or both ofthe .bead seats152 withy rubber fcenient.- Vhen the tire band is finished, the adhesion between it andthe drum at thefront `edge of said band mayl be broken with the aid of a suitable tool and .thetire band 53 will advance with theinovable head 39 during the collapseof the drum to the po-'r sitioii indicated Ain Vbroken ,-linesin Fig. 4..

To remove said tire band, thedrnm is'stopped' is brought forward lto clear the periphery of the front head 38 Vand `it may then be slipped off by dropping it downwardly yor transl,

versely of theaxis of rotation free of said drum, the band becoming slightlyelliptical orllengthened in diameterhorizontally in order to clear the maximum' diameter ofthe.-`

twodruni heads, which exceeds :the: diameter cular'forin.

the flat-band building-process; itis :cheaper tolc'onstlutnd maintain? tfeews th. @Pi-2 Hating the drum-romena and collapse a.

'E 5 t Inr Y ftireband :building machine, the to the collapse and extension-of the drumgit; Combmfat-mn Ofiairotaryhouow Sha-ft acolerator.` of fatigue by a novel. application yof pneiimatics, onfhud-pressure operatingforce,`

providesfor easy removal of the band without encountering any sharp'surfaces, :andit affords certain advantages -njtheybu'ilding v operationas above set forth. y* I `While the drum, as here.- illustrated, is 4iii-y, tended foran inextensible-edged tire` band? whose beads arelocatedbelow or-withinthe Y circle ofthe middle or fiat portion` ofgfthe;v Y band, it might obviously be modified tojmake i bands whose beads are of approximately,thegf Y sameAV diameter as said middle portion. -iOn the other hand, 'the invention also applies f'j tothe ina'king'of tire bands withfal middle;

'port-ion" in transverse'ly-convex or 'arched when the latter varein z cirf form instead of transversely fiat, sothat when the 'bandis formed into tire 'shape by thev vacuunrprocess or otherwise, the middle of the fabricvwill not have to be stretched so far. p Fig. 10, a --flexible tubular member 37L of transversely- -concavoconvex shape is illustratfed. ':Tliereinforce1nent 54a of thisband may -t-alre. theforin ofv a Asingle strand or a narrow strip of cord or the :like woundcontinuously in adjacent circumferential convolution'sfrom'edge to edge, the convolutions progressively `increasing in length from the edges toward the middle of the tubular member.V *Obviously various other modifications in fform, arrangement and structure could be made -within the scopeof' iny invention as defined the claims. i

Iclaiin'ry j y vr`l. Inj-a tire-band building machine, the combination of an endWise-collapsible drum having a flexible' surface, substantially nonexpansible radially-of the drum, and meansfor rotating said drinn.

2. Infa ltire-bandbuilding machine, Ythe combination'of arotatable drum including a pairzof Aheads relatively movable toward and fioinjeach other, afflexible, radially-inexpansible Atubular meinber forming with 'said head'sa'sealed chamber, andineans for in-v,

flatingsaid chamber. Y

Infa Vtire-band building machine, the combinati on ofi-fanl endwise-collapsible, hol-f .low drum, whose peripheral wall is a flexible,

radiallyfinextensible tubular member.' for supporting'the tire material, means for rotating'said drum, andmeans for exhausting its interior' to cause the collapse of they drum by external atmospheric pressure.

14; Iiia-ftireband building inachine,'the

combinatioifiof alhollow shaft, a drum there on comprising a pairof heads'one of which f'isaxi'ally 'slidable'ion-saidshaft toward and Y Mya inventionprovides 'a' much -simplerl ystructure than the radiallyr'collapsible, seg;V

mental tire, drums heretoforeeinployedfin from? the 'other and aA flexible, radially inex 'tensible 'tubular member-forming the periph# lapsible building drumV thereon, l a' pipehaving a'coupling -inry'rotati,ve relationto Said shaft, means "for introducing 4compressed air into fthe l'shaft and y drum through .said pipe,

and m'eans for vproducingA as vacuum. in said 6. .in tire-band building, machine, a ro-V tary drumlcoinprising a p'ai'r of headshavin'gnbead seatsfor alaterallyfextended tire band',A and anint'ermed-iate support; for the ban'dby 'turning/it at an angle to the plane 1offsaid:headsjfand'thenslipping it free of Thus, in the modification shown lin Y Atireimaterial,-y said 'heads being vapproachable to a. position permitting the removal of the `the heads in a direction transverse to their i axis of rotation.

7 In a tire-band building machine, lthe combination of a rotary shaft, a building drum thereon comprising a pair offheads provided with bead seats, and anintermediate band support'of greater diameter than 1 said seats, adapted tocollapse between the inner, rotary shaft, an outer, iluid-conducti heads andr permit their approach to a position where the band may be removed by turning it at an angle to the heads and' slipping it olf transversely of said shaft.

8. A tire-drum structure comprising an inner, rotary shaft, an outer, hollow shaft,

telescoping thereonand constituting a fluid conduit, means -for fixing said hollow shaft l in different Ypositions longitudinally of the p inner shaft, and a hollow, collapsible, forming drum on said hollow shaft, having its 1nter1orV space 1n communication therewith. 9. A tire-'drum structure comprising an ing, hollow shaft telescoping thereon, an ex- `pansible chuck connecting said shafts, and a hollow, collapsible forming drum mounted V[on said hollow shaft and inflatable and de- 1 flatable therethrough.

l0. An inflatable,ho1low drum for forming tire bands, comprising a pair of heads Vmounted for relativeapproachmg and receding movement, and ailexible, tubular band support, 'substantiallyV non-elastic in a radial direction, havin@ its edges lin sealed relation to said hea s. Y f

l1. An inflatable,- hollow, tire-band forming drum comprising a pair of heads mounted for relative axial movement, and a flexible, tubular band support in sealed connection with'said heads, said support being composed of rubber reinforced in its flexing zone with a circumferential cord structure making it substantially non-stretchable in a radial direction. A

ber of approximately flat `transverse form, *l I l having beaded edges and composed of rubberl and a circumferential reinforcement vulcanized. thereto for making it radially inex-Y Y' tensible.

'216.'A band-support v'for tire-building drums comprising a flexible, tubular, axiallyfv stretchable member of approximately llat transverse form, having beaded edgesand composed of rubber and a circumferentiallyextending, substantially-inextensible reinforcement, thefmiddle zone yof said member being substantially without transverse reinforcement. 1

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my handY this V13th day of September, 1928.

HERMAN T. KRAFT'.

l2. An inflatable, hollow, tire-band formL on, a second drum-head slidable along said Y shaft, a stop axially adjustable on saidy shaft for limiting the receding movement ofsaid slidable head, and a radially-inextensible, axially-Stretcliable, flexible, tubular band support connecting vsaid heads.

l5. A band-support for tire-building drums comprising a flexible, tubular mem-l lasA 

